An Older Sister's Responsibility: Chapter 3 – Giving in to Irritations

Chapter 3 – Giving in to Irritations

It’s been over a week since I last was in Solis, and everything has gone downhill. I’ve achieved nothing and learned nothing new, except for new places my brother used to frequent that he no longer visits, and more people looking for him, both criminals and villains with grudges, as well as heroes and vigilantes inspired by him. What bothers me the most are the bounty hunters and those after John because he’s still technically an outlaw with a price on his head. Many are dishonest, claiming they’re after him because he’s dangerous, while others are blunt and are just after the payday and fame that come with capturing him. I know this because the bounty hunters and mercenaries often go after me to reach him, or because I have a similar bounty on my head.

After questioning them and hearing them irritate me with their motives and excuses, I’d knock them out with one last hit or two, but more recently, I’ve straight-up killed them and those who help them. There have been cases where I’ve been helping civilians with their mundane problems or protecting them from villains and criminals, only to be attacked by so-called heroes who think I’m some kind of danger to society. They end up getting livelihoods destroyed and innocent people hurt or killed. I’ve dealt with it happening in so many situations that I’ve given up trying to convince them not I’m not a villain. Now, I just kill them, no matter who they are, whether they’re mercenary or self-professed hero. These people never let me get much rest. Not when I’m trying to sleep, eat, or report back to my parents.

Because of my increasingly violent and hateful actions, my appearance has also changed. While trying to get some sleep in an abandoned apartment in a shady city, I get a good look at myself and see that my skin is nearly black, my golden armor is hardly there, my crimson bodysuit has retracted and shows much of my skin, my hair is black and spiky like horns, and my eyes are black and red. My white snake looks weak and partially black, while my black snake looks more alive than ever. I look more like the monster I’ve known I’ve been in my head, and the one who did everything and anything to protect my brother, the one who cared for me the most in my life, more than my adoptive parents, who I’m beginning to be annoyed by. They kept pushing me to go on this chase, sounding impatient every time I called them, and didn’t seem to want me to come home until I had John with me.

They probably care for him more than me. They did raise him since he was an infant and spent more time with him, after all. All they know about me is that I’m his sister and can be an incredibly violent person at times. They probably took me in just because of John and felt pity for me. I’m not even sure if my own brother cares for me now. He must know by now that I’m after him if I’m being targeted and constantly attacked in places he’s been in. Why hasn’t he tried to contact me yet? Why hasn’t he come running to help me when he’s been helping so many others?

“Idelle,” I hear a familiar voice say.

“John?” I ask.

A man who looks like John enters the room. He’s surrounded by light and has a warm, familiar presence, with an uplifting smile on his face.

“John, is that really you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I’ve heard you’ve been searching for me for days now. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t come to you in your time of need?”

“Where have you been? Why has it taken you so long to find me?”

“I’ve been busy helping others and wanted to make sure they were fine without me before coming to you. I’m sorry that it took me so long.”

The man opens his arms, and a force beckons me to enter his embrace. I uncontrollably walk towards him with my arms open as well, until both of my snakes attack him. His light dulls, and my mind clears up as if it were under some dream-like spell. With my eyes open, I see that the man only partially resembles John, as if he had undergone surgery to achieve this resemblance.

“Who are you?!” I say as my snakes wrap around his neck.

“Heh, I guess there’s no pretending anymore. I’m an admirer of your brother, and knowing that you’re his sister, I thought that bringing you down and into police custody would get him to take me under his wing,” he says.

“What? Why would he do that?”

“Have you been paying attention to what you’ve been doing? Did you get possessed like your parents did? You’ve been killing everyone who confronts you about anything concerning your brother.”

“Because they attacked me first!”

“Some of them did, while others didn’t. I have video proof, if you need it.”

“Show me it then!”

My snakes allow the man to show me his phone and the videos where I attack people, and sure enough, he’s right. I watch full videos of people approaching me about my brother, only for me to answer them with a quick death. There are even times when I attacked seemingly normal people who just wanted to talk to me about myself or my brother.

“I…vaguely remember these. It happened differently in my memory,” I say.

“I’ve heard that black snake tempts you with sinful thoughts and evil ideas, and from your appearance, it seems to have almost completely taken over,” the man says.

“I’m fine! It’s under control, and I won’t lose myself again.”

“You didn’t know you were under its control to begin with. How can you be so sure? This is why I’m trying to bring you into police custody so that you can stop being a danger to everyone around you and yourself.”

“I don’t need your help!”

My snakes tighten around the man’s neck and try to break it. He uses his mind powers, making me unintentionally loosen my grip. My mind is hazier now, and I’m beginning to see others in the room with me.

“She’s lost her mind and needs to be restrained before she hurts anyone else!”

Multiple people attack me all at once, and with my patience gone, I attack them with nothing held back by breaking their necks with my snakes, beating them to death with my fists, and crushing their heads with my feet. The man tries to echo sentiments John would say, trying to get me to stop fighting and give in, but this only makes me fight harder and more brutally. I know my brother better than he does! Who does he think he is?! He’s just another idiotic fanboy who wants the admiration of his hero. I don’t need his help to control myself. I’m fine, and don’t need anyone’s help!

When the haze of the mind control wears off, I see that I’m on the streets of the city, standing in a bloodbath. There are mangled, disfigured, and bodies in pieces all around me of superhuman heroes, law enforcers, and even some civilians. Among them, my attention is drawn most to the man who looks like my brother, who is just as mangled as the rest and whose dead gaze feels judgmental. He was…right. What’s happened to me to make me like this? I beat the black snake on my back until the white snake pulls me back and puts the thought in my head that I can’t blame it for my actions. I can only blame myself.

Quickly leaving the area before I can hurt anyone else, I run to the outskirts of the city and rest in an abandoned motel, so I can collect my thoughts in the morning. When I do, I think of the quickest solution to my problems, head to the nearest church that isn’t in the city I was in, and go to confession. There, I feel like I regain control of my body, and my body and snakes return to their normal color.

Despite what I’ve done, the priest says, “For your penance, find your little brother as you’ve said and pray for peace of mind.”

“That’s it? But I’ve committed so many evil deeds,” I say.

“And yet, God has mercy on you. Your living right now is a sign that God still has more for you that He wants you to do, such as finding your missing brother and bringing him home. Your life isn’t over yet, and you aren’t your faults.”

That’s something John would say.

“Do you think my brother will listen to me despite what I’ve done?”

“From what you’ve told me, he seems like a man who sees the best in people and loves you very much. I have no doubt he will.”

“Okay…thank you, father.”

I leave the confessional, pray a bit, exit the church, and head back on the road to continue my search for John. Even if he does learn about what I’ve done sooner or later, he’ll probably still hear me out, if for no other reason than to help me. Yeah, that could be a convincing reason for him to come home. It sounds manipulative, but guilting him by showing him how much I need his help to stay stable is a good reason for him to come home. He has always said that there’s something to be gained from even the worst situations, and in this instance, I found another argument for him to come home. Hopefully, it’ll be worth the price I paid to get it.